12"

Pleasure of Love reissue imprint, New Islands, is back with another stunning restoration of a sought-after 12” gem. Originally produced by Paul Robb of Information Society in 1987, Venus II emerged as an otherworldly girl group in the Minneapolis scene. The mysterious duo wrote, programmed/sequenced, and performed everything live in the studio and on stage, including their local hit “Oh Boy.” Over the years, balearic heads have come to know and love this rare 12”. Now New Islands, sourcing from the original multi-track tapes, delivers a wicked, lush reissue of the original songs along with a pair of Justin Strauss remixes. Recommended if you like Nu Shooz, Tom Tom Club, and Torch Song.

Daniel Monaco Band is an international group led by Italian bassist Daniele Labbate. Blending jazz, funk, house and disco with live energy, their debut EP ‘Get Naked and Fly’ captures years of collaboration and experimentation. The result is a warm, analog-driven sound crafted by seasoned session musicians who’ve toured the world and are now channeling their creativity into original music as a group.Lead track ‘Love Ago’ delivers modern disco with the authenticity of the golden era, ‘Mimouna’ has a psychedelic edge, with the WHODAMMANY remix taking the original into a more electronic direction. ‘The Devil Left Dancing’ takes a subtly off centre path, nodding to Brazilian influences, while the title track ‘Get Naked and Fly’ is raw and instinctive blending live instrumentation with electronic sensibilities.The project is a testament to what happens when musicians trust each other enough to explore freely without chasing perfection. A live band speaking house, funk and jazz with one voice — analogue, soulful, and free.Personnel : Percussion by Yannick Van Ter Beek, Drums by Robin van Rijn, Sax by Alessandro Russo, Guitar by Simone Cesarini and Bass by Daniele Labbate.Designed by Bradley Pinkerton.

140gram pressing in 3mm spine Disco SleeveTwo lost Disco classics appearing for the first time on a single 12” featuring soul legend Leon Ware and Jo Ann Harris, a little known backing singer for Bob Dylan throughout the 80s.Both songs originally appeared on the ‘20 Minute Workout’ Video and LP released in 1983 by Canadian label Ronco, ‘What Does It Take’ providing an uptempo crescendo to the third part of the workout and ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ the final warm down track. Licensed from producer Ira Newborn, Hollywood soundtrack royalty who composed the scores for an incredible run of films including The Blues Brothers, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Naked Gun trilogy, Weird Science, Ace Ventura and Uncle Buck. Ira’s lawyer persuaded him to get involved in the project for Ronco and it was Ira who hand picked Leon Ware and Jo Ann Harris to add vocals to two tracks to aid the commercial potential of the album. There are two original versions backed with extended instrumentals sourced from a rare Lazer Disc Version of the album.It feels right to shine a light on one of Leon Ware’s lesser known performances, whilst the Jo Ann Harris cut has a distinct Balearic air featuring sultry keys and sax at a tempo of 98 BPM.

Following on from the 2023 reissue of Shiva featuring Leon Ware and Jo Ann Harris, Isle of Jura revisits 1983’s 20 Minute Workout LP once more with the Aerobic EP. This time, four more tracks are unearthed from the original album sessions, all produced by Andy Muson, a seasoned session bassist whose credits include work with Yoko Ono, James Taylor, and Ringo Starr. Originally brought in to play bass, Muson stepped into the producer role at the suggestion of composer Ira Newborn (best known for scoring Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Blues Brothers), who helmed the rest of the Shiva recordings.IOJ label boss Jura Soundsystem is back on the controls, having previously reworked Never Gonna Give You Up into a limited one-sided 'Special Version' as part of the original reissue campaign. This new 12” sees him return to the Shiva project once more, delivering four extended versions that tease out the key elements and pull back on the occasional over the top disco indulgence from the originals. The result is an EP of refined early 80s Disco that acts as a fitting addendum to the original 12”s.artwork designed by Bradley Pinkerton.

A Side: Er Mar (Submarine Mix) "Maracaibo, dance to the barracuda, yes but dance naked, zà zà! "So sang Maria Luisa Colombo, known to all of us as Lu Colombo. It was 1982, the meteoric song became and still is today a worldwide Hit that everyone has sung at least once in their life and almost never sober.Let's make a leap in time, we are in 1993 the track is taken up and remixed in several versions between Latin and Euro House, we have taken up the track Er Mar (Submarine Mix), dreamy, lustful, psychedelic, evocative, Summer in its purest form. To dance on the beach, preferably in company of Miguel and nakedB Side: FeelFly – Onda Erotica Remix A Cosmic sabba in the forest.You’ll get lost with this hypnotic sound and a minute later you’re ready for a proper trip into your hidden Erotic Dreams.With this almost ten minutes long and original version, Feel Fly delivers to all of us a signature track of the highest order.Feel Fly is an Italian electronic musician and DJ. Defined by Gerd Janson as a linchpin of the underground scene, he recently released some Balearic trance tracks on International Feel and Internasjonal by Prins Thomas, as well as transversal EPs on New Interplanetary Melodies and Hell Yeah.